Center for Health Care Strategies presents Medicaid Nutrition Supports: Implementation Innovations

Nutrition insecurity is the most common social need among Medicaid members. To address this issue and mitigate the negative health impacts, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released state guidance in Fall 2023 outlining allowable nutrition supports under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program authorities. Also known as Food is Medicine (FIM) programs, these supports provide eligible individuals access to healthy food resources aimed at preventing, managing, or treating specific clinical conditions in coordination with the health care sector.

Early implementation data shows Medicaid nutrition supports have been well received by providers and enrollees. However, adoption of these benefits is still nascent, and policymakers are grappling with policy design and implementation challenges, and identifying how to encourage service uptake within CMS policy guidelines under different Medicaid authorities. This session will explore how states can better tailor nutrition service design and implementation to maximize positive impacts on enrollee health. It will feature a panel discussion with Medicaid agency staff from Massachusetts and Michigan, who are pursuing nutrition supports under different Medicaid authorities.

This webinar is part of the Medicaid Health-Related Social Needs Implementation Learning Series, led by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) in partnership with HealthBegins and SIREN and made possible by the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at The East Bay Community Foundation.